St. Lucia's east coast is filled with things to do, including hiking, bird watching, sunbathing and night-time sea turtle watching. The different activities are explained according to the different stops along the coast.

Micoud—Just north of Micoud, on the road to Mahaut, is the turnoff to Latille Waterfalls, located in a well-maintained organic garden. At Mahaut is St. Lucia’s most popular hiking trail, the four-mile Descartiers rain forest hike which offers an excellent opportunity to see the St. Lucian parrot in the wild.

Praslin Bay—Like the Amerindian centuries ago, local boat builders here still make fishing canoes out of a single large tree called the gommier. Nature lovers will want to take a ferry to nearby Praslin Island, home to a rare, colorful lizard that originated in the Maria Islands. Another good stop is Mamiku Gardens, a 12-acre tropical garden with exotic trees and plans and the ruins of an estate house burned down by ex-slaves during the revolutionary period in 1797.

Fregate Islands Nature Reserve—A hike of a little over a half-mile is required to reach an observation platform to overlook the Fregate Islands, where magnificent frigate birds nest from May through July, when the trail is closed. They are also in residence the rest of the year.

Dennery—A sizable fishing village that can be seen from an overlook on the highway between Castries and Vieux Fort, but there’s little to attract tourists to the town itself.

Fond D’or Nature Reserve and Historical Park—Located in the Mabouya Valley between Dennery and Castries, this heritage site includes traces of Amerindian settlement, sugar mill ruins, hiking trails, estuarine forest and a wide white sandy beach.

Grande Anse Estate—Much of the 2,200-acre agricultural estate has been allowed to return to the wild, making it an excellent location for bird watching and an ideal refuge for the endangered iguana. The beach here is one of the largest known leatherback sea turtle nesting sites in the Eastern Caribbean. The turtles come ashore from about March to August. Turtle watches are conducted every Saturday under the direction of the St. Lucia Naturalists’ Society.

Marquis Estate-- Located northeast of Castries, the country’s largest estate is still a working plantation that shows how bananas and copra are produced. An organized tour includes a scenic drive along St. Lucia's northeast coast to an old sugar mill, a boat ride on the Marquis River and lunch at the plantation house.